Abbott Sees Humira Sales of $150M or More

DANIEL ROSENBERG

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, January 1, 2003

Dow Jones Newswires

Abbott Laboratories, which received a surprisingly quick approval for its Humira rheumatoid-arthritis drug earlier this week, expects the drug to see sales of more than $150 million globally in 2003 and more than $500 million in 2004.

Speaking in a conference call Thursday, Dr. Jeff Leiden, president and chief operating officer of Abbott's Pharmaceutical Products Group, said the product could add hundreds of millions a year in sales for the drug if the approved uses are expanded. Abbott is studying Humira in the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's Disease, an intestinal ailment, among other illnesses.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease in which various joints in the body become inflamed, leading to swelling, pain, stiffness and the possible loss of function. The disease affects an estimated 2.1 million Americans.

Humira is a gene-derived product that works by blocking the substance that produces inflammation.

Leiden expects peak annual sales from Humira of $1 billion or more. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Humira on Tuesday, and Abbott plans to launch it commercially by mid-January.

In addition, Abbott plans to spend heavily to promote Humira, which will affect its earnings in 2003, Leiden said. However, the company didn't offer an updated outlook.

Leiden said he expects Humira's price to be about equal to that of Amgen Inc.'s Enbrel at around $13,500 per patient per year, and 25 percent to 30 percent less than Johnson & Johnson's Remicade. Enbrel and Remicade are also rheumatoid-arthritis drugs.

Both Enbrel and Humira are administered via injection while Remicade is administered intravenously.

Abbott, which is based in suburban North Chicago, says one of the main advantages of Humira over Enbrel is that it can be dosed once every two weeks rather than twice a week. Enbrel is exploring once-a-week dosing.

Leiden acknowledged that it can be complicated for patients to switch. Some patients receive Medicare reimbursement for intravenous treatment but not for injections, meaning they would be likely to stay on Remicade. Also, physicians are sometimes hesitant to move patients to another drug.

Shares of Abbott were at $40.10 Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange, up 10 cents, or 0.3 percent. The shares rose $2.90 on Tuesday, after news of the approval.